"Good morning, Director Lu!"
The pretty and charming receptionist bowed politely. Her crisp, sweet voice made Lu Chen glance at her one extra time.
The front desk receptionist at Lu Chen Studio had originally always been Sister Little Mei. Not long ago, however, she had been promoted to become Lu Xi's assistant, which counted as quite a major advancement.
This receptionist was newly hired.
At the time, Lu Chen had just gone to Hong Kong. According to rumors, once the recruitment notice for the new receptionist position was released, beautiful applicants came in an endless stream, and the competition had been extremely fierce.
Unfortunately, he had not gotten the chance to witness it himself.
Still, the new employee who had been selected after careful screening was undoubtedly very pleasing to the eye.
Lu Chen nodded. "Morning."
Although the studio had been founded by Lu Chen himself, the position of General Manager had always been held by Lu Xi. Lu Chen himself had originally been the Music Director, but now he held the title of Artistic Director.
He casually asked one more question:
"What's your name?"
The receptionist smiled sweetly.
"My name is Wang Yali. You can just call me Little Li."
"Director Lu, Manager Zhang from Mountain Sea Publishing House is waiting for you in the reception room. Would you like to meet him in your office, or…"
Lu Chen replied, "I'll go see him directly."
Mountain Sea Publishing House was one of the ten largest private publishing houses in the country, with its headquarters located in the Capital.
Back when Lu Chen published the novel version of Autumn in My Heart, this publishing house had secured the rights with the high-price offer of a 15% royalty rate plus a guaranteed advance of 500,000 yuan.
Later on, the novel adaptation of Full House had also been published in cooperation with Mountain Sea Publishing House.
Up to now, the combined sales of Lu Chen's two long novels had already exceeded five million copies. For works adapted from film and television productions, such achievements were exceptionally dazzling.
Aside from the influence of the works themselves, Mountain Sea Publishing House undoubtedly deserved a large share of the credit.
That was why, on Lu Chen Studio's list of partners, Mountain Sea Publishing House belonged firmly within the first-tier category.
Lu Chen was personally acquainted with Zhang Yaocheng, the Deputy General Manager and chief editor of Mountain Sea Publishing House. Since the man had personally come to wait for him at the studio, Lu Chen naturally needed to receive him in person.
"Manager Zhang, long time no see!"
Inside the reception room, Lu Chen once again met Zhang Yaocheng, a middle-aged man with a scholarly temperament.
Zhang Yaocheng shook Lu Chen's hand firmly and laughed.
"Director Lu, you're such a busy man nowadays. It's really not easy trying to meet you!"
Lu Chen said apologetically, "I've been preparing a movie project in Hong Kong recently. I honestly haven't been able to split my attention."
Zhang Yaocheng replied, "Then this time, let's finalize the contract directly."
Lu Chen nodded. "Alright."
Only then did Zhang Yaocheng introduce the young woman he had brought along.
"This is Zhou Lu, my assistant editor. She's responsible for editing and proofreading The Smiling, Proud Wanderer."
Lu Chen nodded toward her and smiled.
"Hello."
"H-Hello…"
Zhou Lu looked to be in her twenties. Her appearance was ordinary, and she wore thick glasses. Faced with Lu Chen, she was obviously somewhat flustered. She seemed to want to extend her hand, only to pull it back halfway, her face flushing bright red.
Lu Chen smiled lightly.
"You've worked hard. Let's talk in the office instead."
"Okay!"
Naturally, Zhang Yaocheng had no objections.
Without changing expression, he shot Zhou Lu a glare that carried a distinct sense of "being disappointed she hadn't lived up to expectations."
The reason he had brought his niece along today was precisely so she could broaden her horizons, meet Lu Chen, this young man with limitless prospects, and expand both her perspective and personal connections.
Zhou Lu's performance had turned out to be unexpectedly poor, completely lacking the confidence she normally displayed at work.
One could only say that Lu Chen's charm was simply too great, or perhaps his halo was too dazzling, making it impossible for a young girl like Zhou Lu, who had only just entered society, to remain calm and composed.
After taking their seats in Lu Chen's office, Zhou Lu finally reacted properly. From the briefcase she carried with her, she carefully took out a thick stack of books, five volumes in total, and placed them in front of Lu Chen.
Zhang Yaocheng explained:
"These are specially customized sample copies prepared by our publishing house. The title was personally written by the famous calligrapher Mr. Fu Guangyuan. We'd like to ask Director Lu to take a look and review them."
Lu Chen picked up the topmost volume and examined it carefully.
Although they were only sample copies, there was very little difference between them and officially published books. The full-color laser-printed cover had excellent resolution, and the four large black characters reading The Smiling, Proud Wanderer were vigorous and forceful, clearly displaying the extraordinary skill of the calligrapher. At the same time, the sweeping brushstrokes carried a touch of unrestrained martial-world heroism.
Lu Chen was very satisfied.
The Smiling, Proud Wanderer was intended as the trial project for Lu Chen's grand IP strategy.
Back in May and June of this year, he had first serialized the online version on Wave Reading under the pen name "Recalling Ancient Times."
At the very beginning, the novel's performance could practically be described as a complete flop. The clicks, bookmarks, and reader comments were pitifully few, making the situation utterly bleak.
However, once Lu Chen steadily updated the story past the 200,000-word mark, the book's performance began improving significantly. More and more readers started liking the novel, and the platform itself even invited him to sign a contract.
Naturally, Lu Chen had no intention whatsoever of signing The Smiling, Proud Wanderer over to Wave Reading. After that, he deliberately slowed down the update pace, and once the novel accumulated around 500,000 words, he paused updates entirely and announced its upcoming publication.
By that point, The Smiling, Proud Wanderer had already surpassed 30,000 bookmarks on Wave Reading!
In managing this new-style wuxia novel, Lu Chen was not in any rush for quick success.
Unlike films or television dramas, the reputation of a truly good book required time to accumulate and ferment, like wine aging in a cellar, becoming more fragrant the longer it was stored.
Now the timing was about right.
So Lu Chen planned to officially push the novel into the market through physical publication, while carrying out suitable promotional operations along the way, laying the groundwork for future works such as The Legend of the Condor Heroes, Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, and an entire series of related projects.
This edition of The Smiling, Proud Wanderer consisted of five volumes totaling around one million words. The design and binding possessed an elegant antique aesthetic, while the internal formatting was neat and orderly.
Mountain Sea Publishing House had clearly put a great deal of care into the production.
While Lu Chen was reviewing the sample copies, Zhang Yaocheng himself was far from calm inside.
Back when Lu Chen Studio first delivered the manuscript, there had actually been disagreements within the publishing house regarding the specific contract terms.
After all, the author of The Smiling, Proud Wanderer had absolutely no fame whatsoever in the literary world and had never published any previous works.
Publishing a book like this undoubtedly carried considerable risk. If they offered royalties plus a guaranteed advance, it would be very easy to lose money badly.
However, after Zhang Yaocheng personally read The Smiling, Proud Wanderer and also learned about the reader feedback it had received on Wave Reading, he resolutely made the decision to sign the contract according to the highest-tier treatment normally reserved for major authors.
This was not merely for the sake of maintaining good cooperative relations with Lu Chen Studio.
More importantly, Zhang Yaocheng himself had developed a strong interest in the wuxia novel. His professional instincts told him that within the traditional publishing market, The Smiling, Proud Wanderer would absolutely secure a place of its own.
Therefore, after learning that Lu Chen had returned from Hong Kong, he immediately came to visit in person at the earliest opportunity, bringing along these meticulously prepared sample books to ensure that he could successfully secure the publishing contract.
Zhang Yaocheng believed that his sincerity was more than enough to finalize this cooperation.
And in fact, he was not disappointed.
(End of Chapter)
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